Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes

I've made plenty of cupcakes in my life, many of them chocolate, but none of them ultimate. My mom passed down a totally serviceable recipe for "wacky cake" cupcakes that I often bake when I'm desperate for some quick-and-dirty chocolate cake action. They look exactly like the photo you see above, but the similarities end there, sorry Mom.

I made this recipe (from The Best of America's Test Kitchen 2011) for the first time last night, and three people--Jeff, his daughter Melissa, and I--experienced the same three-pronged reaction:

1. Alarmed disbelief at total chocolate payoff
2. A sort of wind-knocked-out-of-you doubling over
3. Gleeful eye contact with others while saying "oh my god" through a mouthful of cake and frosting.

And to think that I barely even wanted to make these cupcakes in the first place... Baked Explorations has a phenomenal-looking grasshopper brownie recipe, and I've been looking for any excuse to put it together, but--ack!--Melissa doesn't like mint.

What to do with Jeff and Melissa and their bizarre, irrational tomato-and-mint-hating ways?

I guess you make them these.

I'm going to break this down into sections. Yeah. It's fussy like that. You're going to have to work for these babies.

Note on the chocolate: you will need an entire 11.5-ounce bag of chocolate chips (or three 4-ounce baking bars) for this recipe, and they recommend that you use a high-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, such as Ghirardelli or Callebaut. Since the one-room country shack that masquerades as my local grocery store cannot be bothered to stock anything beyond Nestle's semisweet chips, I went with those. And the cupcakes were still phenomenal.

GANACHE FILLING INGREDIENTS

• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine <-- or just chips
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

Place the chocolate, cream, and powdered sugar in a medium/small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until the mixture is warm to the touch, 20 to 30 seconds. Whisk the mixture until smooth, then refrigerate until just chilled, no longer than 30 minutes.

Note: You're going to drop this onto the tops of the cupcakes right before you bake them. And I'm not sure what goes on during the baking process, but it disappears from the top. I think it sinks down into the cake and becomes a core of richness that is not to be missed. Do not skip this step if you are hardcore. (The recipe says you can omit this step if you want a more traditional cupcake, but if you don't make it out of sheer laziness, I kind of don't want to be friends with you.)

CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS

• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped <--or chips
• 1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder <--because they mean business
• 3/4 cup hot coffee
• 3/4 cup bread flour <--yes, bread flour; see note
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard-size muffin pan (cups have 1/2-cup capacity) with 12 baking cup liners. Place the chocolate and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Pour the hot coffee over the mixture and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate until completely cool, about 20 minutes. Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda together in a medium bowl and set aside.

Whisk the oil, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla into the cooled chocolate-cocoa mixture until smooth. Add the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin pan cups. Place one slightly rounded teaspoon of the the ganache filling on top of each cupcake. Bake until the cupcakes are set and just firm to the touch, 17 to 19 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the muffin pan on a wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from the muffin pan and set on a wire rack. Cool to room temperature before frosting, about I hour.

To frost: mound 2 to 3 tablespoons of the frosting (recipe below) on the center of the cupcake. Use a small icing  spatula or butter knife to ice each cupcake. (The cupcakes can be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored un-frosted in an airtight container.)

Note: I have two different "standard" sizes of muffin pans. If you have a choice too, use the deeper cups. The paper cup should come up to the rim without rising above it--that worked perfectly for me. I'm not sure what the shallower cups would have done.

Note: the recipe calls for bread flour instead of all-purpose because AP isn't strong enough to contain the chocolate, basically. Bread flour is sturdier and your cupcakes will not fall apart the second you bite into them. In fact, it forms a totally appealing, ever-so-slightly crunchy dome over the top of the pre-frosted cupcake. I think that's thanks to the flour, anyway.

CREAMY CHOCOLATE FROSTING INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• pinch salt
• 12 tablespoons (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 12 pieces
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled to between 85 and 100 degrees
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the sugar, egg whites, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer, then place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Heat the mixture, whisking gently but constantly, until slightly thickened and foamy and it registers 150 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 2 to 3 minutes.

Note: I'm not sure why, but this took me more like 5 minutes.

Using the whisk attachment, beat the mixture on medium speed in a standing mixer until it reaches the consistency of shaving cream and is slightly cooled, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the butter, 1 piece at a time, until smooth and creamy. (The frosting may look curdled after half of the butter has been added; it will smooth with additional butter.) Once all the butter is added, add the cooled melted chocolate and the vanilla and mix until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping the beater and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary. If, after you add the chocolate, the frosting seems too soft, chill it briefly and then re-whip until creamy.

(The frosting can be made up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container. When ready to frost, place the frosting in a microwave-safe container and microwave briefly until just softened, 5 to 10 seconds. Once warmed, stir until creamy.)

Note: I've never made frosting like this before, and it's beautifully silky and decadent. Thanks to Melissa for helping me frost the cupcakes. :)

Comments

[Missy Kerrigan]

Made these yesterday, Kelly. I made the ganache. Can I be your friend?

[Kelly]

Absolutely, Missy! :D

And that frosting is amaaaaaazing, RSA Certificate, if that is in fact your real name.

[Kelly]

(I decided that RSA Certificate was not a person and deleted that comment.)

[teresa in richmond]

I think this will be the first treat I make for myself after Easter. My husband and I have given up all grain-type foods during Lent, which has been quite a challenge, but hey, what's Lent for, if not suffering? :o) I love Cooks Illustrated, and these guys look even better than in the magazine! thanks