Saturday, October 8, 2011

Cupcakes!


I recently organized a going-away party for one of the girls in my office.  We wanted to do something that reflected her fun and girly personality - and what better way to do that than a cupake party?  So I got baking...(we all know the potential for disaster there!)

50ish mini cupcakes and a long, busy couple of nights later, I had some Vanilla Chai cupcakes with Vanilla Chai Buttercream and some Chocolate Coconut cupcakes with a Dark Chocolate and Coconut Ganache all lined up and ready to go.  This was quite an adventure for me - I've never really made cupcakes before and I've definitely never iced them!  But I had an ambitious vision in my head and just went with it.  

...and the office loved them!  I was so thrilled / relieved.  I made a half batch of each of the recipes, plus I made them mini instead of standard sized or an actual cake, so I adjusted the baking time to 12ish minutes a batch.  I also subbed in half whole wheat flour and nobody even noticed.  

A note on the chocolate cupcakes - they are really chocolatey (in a dense, dark chocolate kind of way, not a sweet milk chocolate kind of way)...so don't make them unless you have a chocolate lover kicking around.  Also, I might add a bit of coconut extract in the icing next time to pump up the coconut flavor.  

Anyway, enough of my rambling - here are the recipes: 

Vanilla-Chai Cupcakes
(borrowed and slightly adapted from Megan)

Chai Spice Mix
1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 ts cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg


Cupcake Batter
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 quantity chai spice mix 
5/8 cups white whole wheat flour
5/8 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk 
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
Vanilla Chai Buttercream*
2 sticks (1 cup) butter
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 quantity chai spice mix
1-2 tbs cold milk, if needed

*the buttercream was super sweet and I didn't love the texture - next time, I might try a cream cheese icing instead of a buttercream...just a thought

directions:


For the Chai Spice Mix:
- Mix spices together in a bowl and set aside

For the cupcakes:  
- Preheat oven to 325*F  
- Grease a cupcake tin or line with cupcake wrappers. 
- Cream together the butter and sugar. 
- Add the vanilla and beat in one egg at a time then stir in half of the chai spice mix. 
- Sift together the flour and salt into a separate bowl then fold in the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, stirring until combined. Be careful not to over mix. 
- Mix together the baking soda and vinegar and stir into the batter.
- Spoon into prepared cupcake tin until 3/4 full (I did a hefty tablespoon per cupcake) and bake 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a center cupcake comes out clean.
- Cool completely before frosting
For the buttercream
- Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter until it is creamy. 
- On low, mix in the vanilla and the rest of the chai spice mix. 
- Carefully beat in the icing sugar about ½ cup at a time. If the buttercream is too thick add 1-2 tbs of cold milk until the desired consistency is reached
- Pipe onto cooled cupcakes with your favorite frosting tip.
Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes
(batter borrowed and slightly adapted from Sheena; ganache borrowed and slightly altered from Real Simple)

Cupcake Batter

2 ounces 72% dark chocolate
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup boiling water
6 tbsp butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup light coconut milk
5/8 cups white whole wheat flour
5/8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
toasted unsweetened coconut* (for topping, optional)
*I just bought unsweetened coconut and toasted it on the stovetop till it turned golden and began to smell yummy


Chocolate Coconut Ganache  
1 pound 72% dark chocolate
2 cups light coconut milk 
pinch sea salt

directions:


For the cupcakes:  

- Preheat oven to 350*F

- Grease a cupcake tin or line with cupcake wrappers. 

Finely chop chocolate and combine in a bowl with hot water and cocoa powder. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
- Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl
- In another large bowl beat butter and sugar with a hand or stand mixer until well combined. 
 - Add eggs (one at a time) until thickened slightly and light colored (about 3 minutes). 
- Slowly add coconut milk and melted chocolate mixture, beating until combined well. 
- Add flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined.

- Spoon into prepared cupcake tin until 3/4 full (I did a hefty tablespoon per cupcake) and bake 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a center cupcake comes out clean.

- Cool completely before frosting
For the ganache
- Roughly chop chocolate up and place in a large heatproof bowl
- In a medium saucepan, bring coconut milk to a bare simmer, stirring constantly
- Pour hot coconut milk over the chocolate, add the salt and let stand for 2 minutes 
- Whisk until melted smooth then let cool at room temperature* for 4 - 5 hours, stirring occasionally until thick and spreadable
- Pipe onto cooled cupcakes with your favorite frosting tip then top with a sprinkle of toasted coconut.  
*if you try to speed up the process but sticking the frosting in your fridge, you'll get lumpy frosting; once it's cooled, though, you can store it in your fridge.

 I made the buttercream & the ganache a couple of days ahead of time and they kept in the fridge just fine so if you don't have an entire day set aside as a bake-a-thon, that might be a good idea for you to do too.
Enjoy!

2 comments:

  1. I am going to make those! They sound so good.

    ReplyDelete
  2. haha - yea, and they're not as "weird" as most of what we eat ...Daniel said I wasn't allowed to make them healthy, so I stopped at sneaking in the whole wheat. ;)

    ReplyDelete

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