Spiced Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Sometimes I crave spice and sweet together. If one adds sweetness to spicy food it may go wrong, but the other way round works just like a charm.

Hence, I made these cupcakes with the addition of spices and they tasted absolutely what I was looking for!  I’ve made two kind of frosting here, one with chocolate and the other with cocoa. Both were good but the one with melted chocolate had a richer and smooth texture to it.

Spiced Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Spiced Chocolate Cupcakes:

125 g All purpose flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Baking soda
75g Chocolate, chopped
125 g Unsalted Butter
125 g brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Salt, pinch
Coffee, 1 tbsp dissolved in 2 tbsp of hot water
4 tbsp heavy cream

SPICE MIX
1.5 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
Ground Nutmeg, a pinch
Ground Clove, a pinch

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting 1 :

Cream Cheese 125 g, softened
Butter 50 g, softened
Semi sweet chocolate 60 g, chopped
Vanilla Extract 1 tsp
Milk 1-2 tbsp
Icing Sugar 50 g

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting 2 :
125 g, Cream Cheese softened
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1-2 tbsp Heavy Cream
50 g Icing Sugar

Instructions:

Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line muffin tray with cupcake liners.

Sift dry ingredients except sugar together. Set aside.
Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Once melted, set aside.

Cream butter in a mixing bowl with the help of an electric beater for a few minutes.
Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until well combined.
Add eggs and beat until mixture is light and fluffy.
Add vanilla extract and coffee. Mix until well combined.
Add flour mixture and continue to beat until well combined.Do not overbeat.
Add cream and mix well.
Using a spatula, fold in the melted chocolate.

Spoon batter into cupcake liners until three-quarters full. Bake for 20 minutes.

When cupcakes are done, remove from the oven and let cupcakes sit in the muffin tray for 5 minutes.
Remove cupcakes from the tray and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting 1 :

Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Let stand until just warm.
Beat cream cheese, butter and milk until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla essence and mix well with the beater.
Gradually add the icing sugar and beat until mixture is smooth.
Mix in melted chocolate until combined.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting 1

Using a piping bag pipe the cooled cupcakes or store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting 2:

Beat the cream cheese, vanilla essence and heavy cream together. Sift icing sugar and cocoa powder over it and beat until well combined.
Using a piping bag pipe the cooled cupcakes or store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting 2

Bon Apetit!

PS: Did you notice that the frosting is definitely way more better at presentation than my previous posts. I followed Marina’s (from City-Cupcakes) advise and got pretty looking swirls. 🙂

 

Virgin Pina Colada Cupcakes

Hola!

I’m quite excited today not just because it’s the start of another weekend but for many more reasons which I will divulge later on. For now I would like to share with you a truly amazing recipe for cupcakes. These are the Pina Colada Cupcakes..Oops I meant Virgin Pina Colada Cupcakes.

It’s the last month to bask in the warmth of the sun and I’d better make most of it. Being more of a beach person which is rather ironical considering the fact that I’m scared of water. I can swim, but I still am respectful of the ocean. 😉 Anyways, this year has been different and I haven’t had the opportunity to unwind on a white sandy beach with a drink in my hand gazing at the beautiful sunset. Sigh!

I cannot allow this to bring me down. I have had the happiest childhood memories incidentally of them being in summer. Well, If thou cannot go to the beach, thou shall bring the beach at home. If not the beach, at least the experience. 🙂
I have achieved what I was looking for with these virgin pina colada cupcakes! Everyone loved these and I would be lying to say that they were not DE-LI-CIOUS!!!!!! That’s how one of my friends described it. 😉

Virgin Pina Colada Cupcakes

 

Before I get to the recipe I’d like to say that ideally I would have loved to use a coconut frosting. Why did I not?
I was under the impression I definitely had enough coconut cream and desiccated coconut at home, which I later found out I didn’t. Humph!… I didn’t have the time to take a trip to the grocery store and so I just improvised and went with what I had.

Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:

Cupcakes:
100 g Butter, softened
125 g caster sugar
2 eggs
125 ml coconut cream/milk
150 g + 1 tbsp all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp Cornflour
100 g pineapples, chopped

Mascarpone Frosting :
Mascarpone Cheese 125 g
Heavy Cream 100 ml (optional)
Icing Sugar 40 g
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon, optional
12 cubes of pineapple for garnishing, optional

Instructions:
Cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 190 C. Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners.

Sift the flour, baking powder and cornflour and keep aside. Sift 1 tbsp of flour over the chopped pineapples and keep aside.
Cream butter and sugar with an electric beater until combined. Add the eggs and beat until light and fluffy.
Add coconut cream/ milk and beat until combined.
Add the sifted flour and beat until just combined. Do not overbeat.
Fold in the chopped pineapple and spoon the batter into the cupcake liners until 3/4 full.

Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove the cupcakes from the oven and cool completely before frosting.

It’s really easy and fun to convert them to Pina Colada Cupcakes as well!
Here’s How?
While the cupcakes are still warm, pierce several holes the cupcakes using a toothpick. Now drizzle over some coconut-flavored rum. Voila!

Mascarpone Frosting:

Beat the whipped cream until it holds stiff peaks.
Beat the mascarpone and half of the sugar until soft and creamy. Taste and add more sugar as desired.
Fold the whipping cream into the mascarpone cheese and beat until well incorporated, for a few seconds only.
Now pipe the frosting in your piping bag and decorate the cupcakes as you please.

I have dusted my cupcakes with some ground cinnamon, it just makes the whole thing pop!

I’m sure these would turn out good as vegan cupcakes by eliminating butter and eggs and adding pureed pineapple and a dash vinegar. Will try it out soon!

Perfect for a BBQ or Pool Party!

I am taking these to Angie’s wonderful Friday Fiesta Party co hosted by the lovely ladies Margot and Saucy! Happy Fiesta Friday friends!

Bon Apetit!

Chocolate Framboise (Raspberry) Cake

One of the main reasons I started this blog was to challenge myself. Learning for me is a continuous process and something I look forward to all the time. To start a blog seemed to be the right platform to add different skills and techniques in my repertoire. Little did I know I would also have the opportunity to meet fabulous people online.

This post is more of a thank you post. An acknowledgment for reigniting in me a feeling lost somewhere. Cake decorating is something I truly find challenging and it may not even be my style. I just like to explore! I made my first theme cake few months ago for my hubby’s birthday. I wanted to make a cricket themed cake as he is utterly passionate about it. It turned out to be a complete mess, disaster to say the least.

I gave up the thought of trying to create something like this again! However, over the last few days, I came across two very beautiful posts. One from Bonnie and the other from Violets & Vanilla. I was mesmerized to say the least. These girls have talent and are extremely creative and versatile. So when we decided to throw a surprise pre-birthday drinks for one of our friends i jumped in to try my luck. This time I decided to take baby steps. To bite as much as I could chew and I kept it simple. Voila! I was happy with the end result. Simple and chic!

Thank you so much girls!

It’s nothing elaborate and like I said important baby steps. 🙂

Ingredients :

Chocolate-Framboise

Raspberry Syrup :

100 g raspberries, pureed
50 ml water
1 tbsp lemon juice
50 g sugar

Chocolate Sponge Cake:
150 g all purpose flour
20 g cocoa powder
240 egg whites (I needed 6.5)
180 g egg yolks (I needed 8)
120 g sugar

Chocolate Mousse:
500 ml heavy cream
90 g sugar
50 ml water
4 egg yolks
1 egg
220 g chocolate (70% cocoa)

Chocolate Glaze:
200 g chocolate (50% cocoa)
25 g vegetable shortening (replaced with butter)
25 g grapeseed oil

Instructions :

Raspberry Syrup :
Combine all the ingredients and stir until the sugar dissolves.

Chocolate Sponge Cake:
Preheat the oven to 180 C. Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper.

Sift the flour and cocoa powder.

Whip the egg whites at medium speed until they hold a soft peak. Add the sugar and whip the egg whites until stiff and glossy.
Add the egg yolks and whip until smooth, about 5-10 seconds.

Gradually add the sifted dry ingredients and gently fold in with a flexible spatula.

Spread the cake batter on the trays and bake for 10-12 minutes or until done.
Transfer the cake to a rack and let cool.

Chocolate Mousse :
Pour the cream into a bowl and chill.

Place the sugar and water in a small pan and cook over a high heat until it has reached 117C/242F or the ‘soft ball’ stage.I do not own a thermometer so I just tell when the bubbles are almost the same size, that’s the stage we are looking to achieve here.
Meanwhile beat the egg yolks with the whole egg at low speed.
Pour the sugar syrup from the sides of the bowl onto the egg yolks mixture and increase the speed to medium and continue to whisk for 8-10 minutes until the mixture cools to room temperature.

Finely chop the chocolate and melt over a double boiler.

Whip the chilled cream unitl it holds a stiff peak.

Scrape the chocolate into the egg mixture and stir until smooth.
Beat one-third of the whipped cream into the mousse to lighten it. Gently fold in the remaining whipped cream until smooth.

Chocolate Glaze:
Finely chop the chocolate and place with butter in a bowl. Place over a double boiler and let melt, stiring until the chocolate reaches between 95 and 104° F or 35 to 40° C. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Pour the glaze over the top of the cake, smooth with an offbeat spatula and chill until set.

Assembling the Cake :
Line the cake board with parchment paper.
Place one sponge cake and brush with raspberry syrup.
Spread half of the chocolate mousse over the cake with an offbeat spatula.

Place the second sponge onto it and brush with raspberry syrup.
Spread half of the chocolate mousse over the cake with an offbeat spatula. I mixed the mousse with some raspberries at this stage.
Chill until set, at least an hour.
Pour the glaze over the top of the cake, smooth with an offbeat spatula and chill until set.

Decorate as you please.

A little bit about my friend who is going to turn 35 in a couple of days. He is a gem of a person… a true gentleman, this is what I wanted to reflect in the cake! The saying “Age is just a number” suits hims best. Anyone who meets him would describe him as 18 by heart. He not only takes care of the more younger people in our group, but he is also a fun loving, humorous guy. Hence I personalized the cake with some of the words he frequently uses to indulge in the amusing side of his personality. He knows how to brighten up a dull day anytime! 🙂

Bon Apetit!

I am taking this cake over to Angie’s Fiesta Friday for the celebrations! 🙂

Happy Fiesta Friday!

Celebrate International Chocolate Day with Chocolate Raspberry Garland

I cannot imagine what life would have been without chocolates! The decadent, rich chocolate as we know it today has a humble past, being used as fermented alcoholic beverage cultivated during the Mesoamerican civilization about 3000 years ago. The Aztecs believed that cacao seeds were a Gift of God and used them as a form of currency. It was only in the 16th century after the Spanish conquered the Aztecs, it was served as a court beverage for the first time in Europe and spread across the continent, available only to the elite. It took another two centuries for cocoa powder to be invented and the humble cacao been has since been transformed and used in a lot of different ways!

An Aztec woman generates foam by pouring chocolate from one vessel to another. Pic Courtesy: Wikipedia

Everyday is chocolate day and we need no special day to celebrate this gift of god. However, we can always use an excuse to gorge on chocolate, it being International Chocolate Day today, i’ve tried to use chocolate in its pure form without messing around too much!

Chocolate Raspberry Garland

Chocolate and raspberries are a match made in heaven and a great way to start the week.. 😉

Makes 6 serves
Ingredients :
Chocolate Cupcake :
1/2 banana, chopped
50 g chocolate (60% cocoa)
55 g butter
2 eggs
75 g sugar
30 g all purpose flour
1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

Chantilly Cream :
100 ml whipping cream, chilled
10 g icing sugar, sifted
vanilla extract, 1/2 tspn

Raspberry Coulis :
100 g frozen raspberries/ strawberries
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice

Chocolate Sauce :
200 g chocolate (60 % cocoa)

For Plating :
Raspberries

Instructions :

Chocolate Cupcakes :

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Grease a muffin pan and dust with cocoa powder.

Melt the butter and chocolate over a double boiler.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy. Lightly whisk in the melted butter and chocolate.

Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the batter and beat until combined.

Spoon the batter into the muffin pan, filling them one-third. Insert chopped banana pieces. Spoon in more batter until two-thirds full.

Bake for about 12 minutes and let cool on a wire rack.

Raspberry coulis :

Bring all ingredients to the boil and simmer until soft. Blend until smooth and strain through a fine sieve and chill until required.

Chantilly Cream :
Keep the bowl and beaters in the freezer for 5 minutes. Beat the cream, sugar and vanilla essence until soft peaks form.

Chocolate Sauce :
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.

Plating :
Smear coulis across the plate.
Dip the base of the cooled cupcake into melted chocolate. Place chocolate side up over the coulis.
Pipe three rounds of Chantilly cream on one side.
Line raspberries in a circle on the edge of the plate and drizzle the melted chocolate over the raspberries.

Bon Apetit!