Devil's foodcake cupcake

It's been a busy weekend. Hubby had his birthday and I decided to make several flavors of cupcake (So, you might be getting some more recipes this week) to make a cupcake "tower"

I used the Martha Stewart cupcake cookbook I mentioned in the previous post. (I really wanted to try every recipe)

Since I was making several cupcakes, I decided to halve the recipe. I am posting the full version :

DEVILS FOOD CUPCAKE

¾ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
¾ cup hot water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1¼ teaspoons coarse salt
1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
2¼ cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

2. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.

3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

4. To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting. Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature and garnish with chocolate curls just before serving.



CHOCOLATE GANACHE: (you can make half of this recipe)

1 pound (500 grams) good-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2⅓ cups heavy cream
¼ cup corn syrup

1. Place chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Bring cream and corn syrup just to a simmer over medium-high heat; pour mixture over chocolate. Let stand, without stirring, until chocolate begins to melt.

2. Beginning near the center and working outward, stir melted chocolate into cream until mixture is combined and smooth (do not overstir).

3. Refrigerate, stirring every 5 minutes, until frosting just barely begins to hold its shape and is slightly lighter in color. Use immediately (ganache will continue to thicken after you stop stirring).

FOR CHOCOLATE CURLS- if you have a block of chocolate, you can shave off some curls with a vegetable peeler. (garnish cupcakes)

--- My hubby's bff particularly liked this chocolate cupcake. The half recipe is good for about 12 large cupcakes. If you use the full recipe, you can make about 30 pcs of regular sized ones. I was in a hurry to frost the cupcakes so I did not bother to pipe the frosting- I just spread it with a small offset spatula and sprinkled some star candy on top to make it more interesting.

-- If I had more time, I would have added a filling inside too. (was pressed to make other varieties).

Enjoy!

Recipe from Martha stewart CUPCAKE cookbook