Hi-Hat Cupcake

Growing up my favorite treat is the Mallows. Mallows is a biscuit based treat topped with marshmallow then covered with thin coating of chocolate, wrapped in silver aluminum foil.  Yum! One was never enough. I can easily eat 3 without feeling any guilt. During my grade school days, my weekly allowance was 500 pesos and most of the time I rather spend it on tasty treats like the Mallows rather than buying lunch. My pocket then was full of chocolates and girly hair accessories.
Fast forward to the present, after seeing Martha show wherein they featured the Elinor Klivans’ Hi-Hat Cupcake taken from Cupcakes! Book. It looks easy enough the chocolate cupcake is topped with fluffy marshmallow like frosting then when they are a bit dry, each are hand dipped into a rich bowlful of shinny chocolate. Set and enjoy! What could be better than that right? Well…I had to conquer my fears with making the marshmallow like frosting. I hate tinkering with a candy thermometer and I can never tell whether or not the mixture is hot or set enough, so I kept saying someday…someday I will make it. That someday finally came last Sunday, I finally sucked it up and made my very first marshmallow frosting.  The best way I think to tackle this problem is take it a step of the time, first I made the cupcake the night before and the next day, these little babies are ready to frost. I gingerly separated my eggs, fearing that a speck of egg yolk might accidentally be mixed in with my egg whites. That is a huge no no when whisking egg whites into the desire voluminous consistency, which is exactly what we need for this.
First I made the cupcake. I made double batch of the chocolate recipe from the same book because there is no way that 1 batch would be enough for my family. They came out soft and fluffy however I have a problem with the coloring. It is supposed to be chocolate but it turned out kind of light brown and lacks the rich chocolate taste that we often associate with chocolate. That is so weird, not at all what I expected. Such a disappointment, though I have a feeling it is indeed because of the chocolate. In other chocolate cupcake recipes that I have tried before aside from the recipe calling for chopped melted chocolate there is always few tablespoonful of Dutch processed cocoa which gives it its rich dark chocolate flavor and coloring. So next time I make this I will probably use other cupcake recipe. The marshmallow part is amazing! though I might be bias here since this is the first time I made marshmallow. The only thing I didn't thought of is that my pastry tip is way too small so instead of having gorgeous swirls, what I got are small squiggles but no worries when dipped in the chocolate they all look pretty. All in all it was worth all the prep work.

HI-HAT CUPCAKE
Adapted from Cupcakes! For the Batter
  • 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 cup (1stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
For the Frosting
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 3 large egg whites
  • 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp. almond extract
For Chocolate Coating
  • 2 cups chopped semi sweet chocolate
  • 3 tbsp. canola or vegetable oil

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Prepare the batter: Place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl, and set it over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water; stir chocolate until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from heat, and set aside to cool slightly.
  2. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed, scraping sides of bowl as needed, until light and fluffy. On low speed, mix in melted chocolate. Increase speed to medium, and add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla, and beat until mixture is creamy and color has lightened slightly, about 1 minute. Mix in sour cream. On low speed, add half of reserved flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Mix in 1/2 cup water. Add remaining flour mixture, and mix until just incorporated.
  4. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. Fill each liner with enough batter to come 1/8 inch from top, about 1/3 cup. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until tops are firm and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool in pan for 10 minutes.
  5. Use a small knife to loosen any tops stuck to the pan. Carefully invert cupcakes onto the wire rack. Turn cupcakes right side up, and let cool completely.
  6. Prepare the frosting: In a large heatproof bowl, combine sugar, 1/4 cup water, egg whites, and cream of tartar. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat on high speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Set bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Beat on high speed until frosting forms stiff peaks, about 12 minutes; frosting should register 160 degrees.on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and almond extracts, and beat for 2 minutes more until frosting thickens.
  7. Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain pastry tip. Leaving a 1/8-inch border on each cupcake, pipe a spiral of frosting into a 2-inch-high cone shape, using about 1/2 cup of frosting per cupcake. Transfer cupcakes to a baking sheet, and refrigerate while preparing the chocolate coating.
  8. Prepare the chocolate coating: Combine chocolate and oil in a medium heat-proof bowl set over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let cool about 15 minutes.
  9. Holding each cupcake by its bottom, dip cupcake in the chocolate to coat frosting, allowing excess to drip off. Transfer to a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack. Spoon more coating around edge of cupcake and any exposed frosting; none of the frosting should show. Let cupcakes stand at room temperature 15 minutes.
  10. Carefully remove paper liners from cupcakes, and discard. Place cupcakes on a serving platter, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let coating set. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours more. Serve cold. Cupcakes can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

nikcreate

I'm a nine to five pencil pusher who loves to play with flour and paper during my free time. Dreams of going to Europe and eat croissants and make pastries all day long!

4 comments:

  1. these do look very pretty! and i find marshmallow, meringue, and other egg white confections intimidating too...but they are sure yummy when they come out right!

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  2. I have been meaning to make this. Yours look perfect.

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  3. These look amazing!!!! I love choco mallows so I'm sure this is double the treat.

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  4. Holy moly, so beautiful. i need one of these cupcakes NOW. Please!!!

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