Continuing my cupcake stint (I wrote stink the first time, cracked up a little, and corrected it, but I still had to share), I found this recipe on SK and just had to give it a whirl. I couldn't find peppermint extract here, so I went with some semi-mysterious "citron aroma" that I found in the baking aisle and remembered using the vanilla aroma for our Thanksgiving apple crisps. The batter had a surprisingly strong coffee flavor, but the cupcakes turned out to be less coffee and more chocolate flavor. I was surprised that the recipe didn't call for any flour, but I also don't know much about souffles. Thanks to the Oxford English Dictionary on my macbook (which I use like a fiend and love everything about it - well, both the computer and dictionary):
soufflé |soōˈflā| |suˈfleɪ| |ˈsuːfleɪ|nouna light, spongy baked dish made typically by adding flavored egg yolks to stiffly beaten egg whites.• any of various light dishes made with beaten egg whites.ORIGIN French, literally ‘blown,’ past participle of souffler (see souffle).
So, the recipe makes so much more sense. I wish we had an OED screen on the side of my whiteboard in class so that I could just punch in any word and my whole class could read the definition and origin. I have been teaching them word parts this year, so now they love to ask me the origins of words and what the word parts are. They still can't punctuate a sentence correctly, though, for the most part, and I'm about to start pulling my hair out.
But I digress. These cupcakes are heavenly. They are light, fluffy, creamy, and chocolatey. They are a little crispy on the outside and are moist and warm on the inside. The lime aroma really worked out quite deliciously, and I'm really enjoying them even aesthetically, sitting next to the spread sitting on the baking rack.
SK claims that it makes 9 cupcakes, but I got 12 out of the recipe and was happy with the sizes.
6 ounces (170 grams) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped [I had about 65% here, I think]
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) (86 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) espresso or instant coffee powder [I just used the nescafe we had]
3 large eggs, separated
6 tablespoons (97 grams) sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
White Chocolate Cream
2 ounces (56 grams) white chocolate, finely chopped [I'm not sure that my white chocolate was really white chocolate, but it was the only similar thing around, and it worked]
3 ounces heavy whipping cream
1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract [as mentioned, I used 'lime aroma' and didn't measure]
Get the white chocolate mint cream ready for later:
Place the white chocolate in a small bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer, pour it over the chocolate and let it sit for a minute to melt the chocolate. Whisk well. Add the peppermint extract and whisk again. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the cream. Chill until very cold, about two hours [I left mine for only about an hour, but it was still fine, though not as firm of peaks as it maybe could have been if I had waited the full 2 hours].
Make cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9 [or 12] standard-size muffin cups with paper liners. Stir chocolate, butter and espresso powder together in heavy medium saucepan over low heat mostly melted, then remove from the heat and whisk until it is fully melted and smooth. Cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally.
Using electric mixer (a hand mixer, rather than a stand mixer, actually works best here because the volumes are so small) beat egg yolks and 3 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until mixture is very thick and pale, about 2 minutes.
Briefly beat lukewarm chocolate mixture, then vanilla extract, into yolk mixture. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and all of the salt, beating until medium-firm peaks form. Fold whites into chocolate mixture in 3 additions.
Divide batter among prepared cups, filling each three-fourths of the way.
Bake cakes until tops are puffed and dry to the touch (some may crack) and a tester inserted into the centers comes out with some moist crumbs attached, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in pan on a cooling rack, where the cupcakes will almost immediately start to fall. It will be all the better to put your cream on them.
Finish your masterpiece:
Beat mint white chocolate cream with electric beaters until soft peaks form. Remove cupcakes from pan, arrange on a platter. Fill each sunken top with a healthy dollop of white chocolate cream.
soufflé |soōˈflā| |suˈfleɪ| |ˈsuːfleɪ|nouna light, spongy baked dish made typically by adding flavored egg yolks to stiffly beaten egg whites.• any of various light dishes made with beaten egg whites.ORIGIN French, literally ‘blown,’ past participle of souffler (see souffle).
So, the recipe makes so much more sense. I wish we had an OED screen on the side of my whiteboard in class so that I could just punch in any word and my whole class could read the definition and origin. I have been teaching them word parts this year, so now they love to ask me the origins of words and what the word parts are. They still can't punctuate a sentence correctly, though, for the most part, and I'm about to start pulling my hair out.
But I digress. These cupcakes are heavenly. They are light, fluffy, creamy, and chocolatey. They are a little crispy on the outside and are moist and warm on the inside. The lime aroma really worked out quite deliciously, and I'm really enjoying them even aesthetically, sitting next to the spread sitting on the baking rack.
SK claims that it makes 9 cupcakes, but I got 12 out of the recipe and was happy with the sizes.
6 ounces (170 grams) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped [I had about 65% here, I think]
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) (86 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) espresso or instant coffee powder [I just used the nescafe we had]
3 large eggs, separated
6 tablespoons (97 grams) sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
White Chocolate Cream
2 ounces (56 grams) white chocolate, finely chopped [I'm not sure that my white chocolate was really white chocolate, but it was the only similar thing around, and it worked]
3 ounces heavy whipping cream
1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract [as mentioned, I used 'lime aroma' and didn't measure]
Get the white chocolate mint cream ready for later:
Place the white chocolate in a small bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer, pour it over the chocolate and let it sit for a minute to melt the chocolate. Whisk well. Add the peppermint extract and whisk again. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the cream. Chill until very cold, about two hours [I left mine for only about an hour, but it was still fine, though not as firm of peaks as it maybe could have been if I had waited the full 2 hours].
Make cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9 [or 12] standard-size muffin cups with paper liners. Stir chocolate, butter and espresso powder together in heavy medium saucepan over low heat mostly melted, then remove from the heat and whisk until it is fully melted and smooth. Cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally.
Using electric mixer (a hand mixer, rather than a stand mixer, actually works best here because the volumes are so small) beat egg yolks and 3 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until mixture is very thick and pale, about 2 minutes.
Briefly beat lukewarm chocolate mixture, then vanilla extract, into yolk mixture. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and all of the salt, beating until medium-firm peaks form. Fold whites into chocolate mixture in 3 additions.
Divide batter among prepared cups, filling each three-fourths of the way.
Bake cakes until tops are puffed and dry to the touch (some may crack) and a tester inserted into the centers comes out with some moist crumbs attached, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in pan on a cooling rack, where the cupcakes will almost immediately start to fall. It will be all the better to put your cream on them.
Finish your masterpiece:
Beat mint white chocolate cream with electric beaters until soft peaks form. Remove cupcakes from pan, arrange on a platter. Fill each sunken top with a healthy dollop of white chocolate cream.
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