Black Bottom Cupcakes
18 cupcakes
From the Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village in NYC
Cream Cheese Filling:
¼ pound ( 1 ½ 8-oz packages) cream cheese – not softened
½ cup sugar
1 large egg at room temp
1/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Cupcakes:
1 ¾ cup flour
¾ cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla
Preheat oven 350 degrees. Line two 12 cup muffin tins with 18 muffin papers.
Cream Cheese Filling: Beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the egg and beat well. Stir in the chocolate chips. Set aside.
Cupcakes: Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Beat together the oil and sugar on medium speed. Add the dry ingredients in two parts, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla, and making sure all are well blended.
Carefully spoon the cupcake batter into the lines, filling about 2/3 full. Drop a small scoop (about 1 ½ Tablespoons) of the cream cheese filling on top of each cupcake. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tested comes out clean.
Cool cupcakes in the tins or 30 minutes. Remove from tins and cool completely on a wire rack.
Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcake
Makes about 2 dozen
1 1/3 cups self-rising flour
1 ¼ cups all purposed flour
1 cup (2sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temp
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Icing: Magnolia’s Vanilla Buttercream or Chocolate Buttercream.
Line two 12-cup muffin tins with papers. In small bowl, combine flours. Set aside.
In large bowl, on medium speed, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely .
Magnolia’s Chocolate Cupcakes
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, room temp
6 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled to lukewarm
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Ice with Vanilla Buttercream or Chocolate Buttercream
Preheat oven t 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins. Sift the flour and baking soda and set aside. On medium speed, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add the chocolate, mixing until well incorporated, but do not overeat. Scrape down the batter with a rubber spatula to make sure all are well blended and batter is smooth. Spoon into cupcake liners, filling them about 3/.4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes until tester comes out clean. Cool in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from tins and cool completed on a wire rack.
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM ICING
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
6-8 cups confectioners sugar
½ cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla.
Put butter in large mixing bowl and add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On medium speed, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each – about 2 minutes until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. Use and store at room temp – good for up to 3 days. If chilled, icing will set.
CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM
1 ½ cups unsalted butter (3 sticks)
2 Tablespoons milk
9 oz semisweet chocolate , melted and cooled to lukewarm
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ¼ cups sifted confectioners sugar.
Beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add milk and beat until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and beat well, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat for 3 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and beat on low speed until creamy and of desired consistency.
Note: Beating icings at the proper speed is critical. If beaten at too high a speed, the icing incorporates air and becomes fluffy rather than creamy
HI-HAT Cupcakes
From Martha Stewart
Batter:
3 ozs unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 large sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup sour cream
Frosting:
1 ¾ cup sugar
3 large egg whites
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract
Chocolate Coating:
2 cups chopped semisweet chocolate (about 12 ounces)
3 Tablespoons canola oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Prepare the batter: melt chocolate in microwave, stir until smooth. Set aside to cool slight.
Meanwhile whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In mixed, cream butter and sugar on medium speed, scraping sides of bowl as needed, until light and fluffy. On low speed, mix in melted chocolate. Increase speed to mediums and add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add vanilla and beat until mix is creamy and color has lightened slightly, about 1 minutes. Mix in sour cream. On low speed, add half of reserved flour mix, beating until just incorporated. Mix in ½ cup water. Add remaining flour mix, and min until just incorporated.
Prepare a cup cake pan. Fill each line with enough batter to more 1/8 inch from top, about 1/3 cup. Bake, rotating pans halfway through , until tops are firm and a cake test pick inserted comes out clean - about 30 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool in pan for 10 minutes.
Use a small knife to loosen any tops stuck to the pan. Carefully invert cupcakes onto wire rack. Turn cupcakes right side up, and cool completely
Prepare frosting : Combine sugar, ¼ cup water, egg whites, and cream of tartar. Beat on high speed until foamy, about 1 minutes. Set bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Beat on high speed until frosting forms stiff peaks, about 12 minutes; frosting should register 160 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and almond extracts, and beat for 2 minutes more until frosting thickens.
Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a ½ inch plain pastry tip. Leaving a 1/8 inch border on each cupcake, pipe a spiral of frosting into a 2-inch high cone shape, using about ½ cup of frosting per cupcake. Transfer cupcakes to a baking sheet, and refrigerate while preparing the chocolate coating.
Prepare the chocolate coating; combine chocolate and oil in a medium heat proof bowl set over a medium sauce pan of barely simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let cool about 15 minutes.
Holding each cupcake by its bottom, dip cupcake in the chocolate to coat frosting, allowing excess to drip off. Transfer to a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack. Spoon more coating around edge of cupcake and any exposed frosting; none of the frosting should show Let cupcakes stand at room temp 15 minutes. Carefully remove paper liners form cupcakes and discard.
Place cupcakes on a serving platter and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let coating set. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours more. Serve cold.
CHOCOLATE-FILLED CUPCAKES
1 DOZEN
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
6 large egg whites
¾ cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 vanilla beans
2 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, cut into twelve 2-inch chunks
1 Tablespoons confectioners sugar for dusting
Preheat 350 degrees. Line a standard 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners; set aside; put butter and sugar into the bowl of a mixed with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg whites, milk, vanilla, and vanilla seeds; mix until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined.
Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each about ¾ full. Insert a piece of chocolate into center of each, pressing about halfway into batter to cover. Bake until pale golden brown, about 24 minutes. Transfer tin to a wire rack; let cool slightly. Dust with confectioners sugar. Can be stored for 3 days.
BOSTON CREAM CUPCAKES
Makes 12
Pastry Cream
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
3 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
Pinch salt
1 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
Cupcakes
1 ¾ cup flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
12 Tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into 12 pieces
3 large eggs
¾ cup milk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
Chocolate Glaze
¾ cup heavy cream
¼ light corn syrup
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
½ teaspoon vanilla
Pastry Cream
Heat cream in medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, sugar, and salt together in medium bowl. Add cornstarch and whisk until mix is pale yellow and thick, about 15 seconds.
When cream reaches full simmer, slowly whisk it into yolk mix. Return mix to saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thick and glossy, about 1 ½ minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter and vanilla. Transfer pastry cream to small bowl, press plastic rap directly on surface and refrigerate until cold and set at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
Cupcakes
Adjust oven rack to middle and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray, flour generously, and tap pan to remove excess.
With electric mixer on low, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in large bowl. Add butter, one piece at a time, and combine until mixture resembles coarse sand. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined. Add milk and vanilla, increase speed to medium, and mix until light and fluffy and no lumps remain, about 3 minutes.
Fill muffin cups three quarters full. Bake until TICCOC, 18—20 minutes, then transfer them to rack to cool completely.
Glaze
Cook cream, corn syrup, chocolate and vanilla in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Set aside to cool and thicken for 30 minutes.
- Prepare cupcakes . Cool. Insert tip of small knife at a 45 degree angle about 1/8 inch from edge and cut all the way around, removing a cone of cake.
- Cut away all but the top ¼ inch of the cone. Leaving only a small disk of cake.
- Fill the cupcake with 2 Tablespoons pastry cream and top with the disk of cake.
- Set the filled cupcakes on a wire rack set over parchment paper. Spoon 2 Tablespoons of glaze over each cupcake allowing it to drip down the sides.