Since Monsieur Henry's birthday is coming up I thought it prudent to do a practice run making some homemade cupcakes for the big day. As always, my trusted cooking friends at Cook's Illustrated have a fantastic recipe. I can say it is fantastic because I just finished taste testing the cupcakes of my labor and they are yummy. A perfect Sunday accompaniment, for sure. Next to try is this cupcake with the chocolate buttercream frosting. (This batch is frosted with vanilla buttercream.)Ingredients:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup sour cream
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard-sized muffin pans with baking-cup liners.
Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water. Heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and fully combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to touch.
Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder in small bowl to combine. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine. Add sugar, vanilla, and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one third of the flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is thick.
Divide batter among muffin pans cups. Bake until toothpick inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.
Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to wire rack and cool to room temperature before icing.
Makes 12 cupcakes
13 comments:
Christie, we are cut from the same cloth. Did a practice run for E's bday - second trial run. The first was ATK's yellow cupcake recipe. The second run today - this exact same recipe. Eerie. Only I used a petit fours pan rendering the product in flower shape, and dusted with confectioners sugar.
More testing is needed.
Can't believe our babies are almost one...where did the time go?
Ms. A,
I made that ATK yellow cupcake recipe a while ago and so fuckered up the frosting I've been scared to revisit it. This chocolate cupcake recipe was good but Henry didn't seem to like it so it's back to the drawing board.
Megan,
I know. It's crazy how fast the time has gone by. Crazy, crazy, crazy.
I don't do nearly enough practice baking for my kids' birthdays. I owe it to them to get the recipe right, so I might just start now for April, May and July. You can never be too safe.
(For Jojo's birthday cupcakes, I made mini cupcakes... so adorably, stinking cute. But lots of pouring. And it's easy to eat about 20 without even blinking.)
I recommend the Boston Creme Cupcakes recipe from their "downhome" magazine "Cook's Country"!
Zozopdx, recipe please! Those sound delicious.
Tonight I'm trying Banana chocolate chip cake from ATK. Told B this morning I think I have a baking problem. He said it wasn't a problem.
Ms. A,
It might be an eating problem but it's not a baking problem. I try to send the leftovers into work with Darr so we don't have those things sitting around the house all of the time, calling at us from the kitchen.
Ms. A (2),
10, 20, 30 - who's counting?! :) Where'd you get your mini cupcake tin?
Zozopdx,
Yes, recipe, please!
I bought them at a Pampered Chef party and then found them at Fred Meyer for about 1/4 the price. Arg.
Ms. A (2),
That's what I've discovered about Pampered Chef. You can generally find whatever they've got at Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Williams Sonoma, Kitchen Kaboodle, Fred Meyer or the like for a fraction of the price. I only go to those parties now when I'm tricked into it by my friend.
For me, it was my friend's first party, being hosted by another friend. I was totally guilted into going and then buying something.
Your comment gives me visions of your friend trying to think of new ways to trick you into going to PC parties... like it's a regular thing or something.
It's not so much of a trick as it is a last minute confession, as in "Oh, did I mention it's a <insert party of choice here>?" I get invited over but it isn't until right before that she breaks out the real reason for the get together.
You must buy a lot if you're such a sought-after guest! I'm headed to my third Party Lite Candle party of the year tomorrow... and I have yet to burn a single candle yet. Shows how desperate I am to get out of the house. Sad, I know.
Amber, if it's an excuse to get out it might be cheaper, overall, than going out for drinks. And less of a headache the next day. And you get candles/pie tins/makeup/etc. out of it.
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