So yesterday I tried a different chocolate cake recipe. And, despite my modifications, they turned out great! I also made peanut butter frosting to go with them. So that takes care of two recipes in one day to get me all caught up with my Advent calender! What are these wonderful recipes, you ask? Have no fear, they're right below. (Both are from the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.)
Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes: 24 cupcakes (I actually got 30 even though some of mine were overfilled)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes plus cooling time
16 Tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used semisweet chocolate chips because I dark dark chocolate isn't my thing)
1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (I used regular unsweetened cocoa powder because that's what I had on-hand, but Dutch-processed generally gives a richer taste)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature (you can do this quickly by putting the eggs in hot - not boiling - water for 10 minutes)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
1. Microwave the butter, chocolate, and cocoa together, whisking often until melted and smooth, 1 to 3 minutes. Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.
2. Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffin pans with cupcake liners. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.
3. Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the sugar until combined. Whisk in the cooled chocolate mixture.
4. Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the batter, then whisk it in. Whisk in the sour cream. Sift the remaining flour mixture over the batter and whisk until completely incorporated (the batter will be thick).
5. Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out with a few crumbs attached, 18 to 22 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.
6. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans on wire racks for 5 minutes. Remove from the pans and let cool completely on the racks before frosting, about 1 hour.
When they say the batter is thick, they're not kidding - mine was almost brownie thick. This made it slightly difficult to tell when the cups were two-thirds full since the batter didn't settle into the pan. This meant I had to eyeball the amount of batter in the cups and adjust it as needed. I also only have one muffin tray - I know, it's shameful - so I baked one at a time, for 18 minutes each.
And now the peanut butter frosting! (It's one of the provided modifications for the America's Test Kitchen Quick and Rich Vanilla Frosting.)
Makes: 3 cups
Total Time: 10 minutes
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
Stir the cream, vanilla, and salt together in a small bowl until the salt dissolves. Beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, 30 to 60 seconds. Reduce speed to medium-low, slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth, 2 to 5 minutes. Beat in peanut butter until smooth. Beat in the cream mixture. Increase speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, 4 to 8 minutes.
Super easy and delicious! I did, however, end up with more than I could use for the cupcakes. Probably because I don't an overabundance of frosting on my cake, no matter how delicious it is. Of course, that means I now have extra frosting to use on another occasion. I can think of worse problems to have.
 |
| So, so good! |
No comments:
Post a Comment