Tuesday, October 28, 2008

TWD: Choco Choco Cupcakes.



Cupcakes are a subject near and dear to my heart. So, because of that I was very happy to see Miss Clara of I Heart Food for Thought (and I Heart Cuppycakes) choose Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes for TWD this week.

This recipe uses a pretty basic yet yummy chocolate cupcake recipe, and a ganache for the topping. Since I am a piping lover rather than a dippy ganachey kind of gal, I whipped the ganache in order to pipe it on the cupcakes instead.



I seem to have some sort of 'overwhipping' issue when it comes to heavy cream and ganache...I can't seem to stop right at the correct time. Someday I'll get it right. Luckily, even when cream is a bit overwhipped, it still tastes amazing.



It seems some of the TWD gals had a problem with dry cake. For me in a chocolate cupcake, that is not unusual and the culprit is usually overbaking. Chocolate cupcakes go from being just right to overdone in like a split second it seems. I tend to slightly underbake my choco cupcakes now, and they cool perfectly. This recipe was wonderfully chocolatey and not dry at all for me.



I followed the recipe pretty closely for once, just to see what another choco recipe is like, because I am testing out a bunch. This one was pretty close to what I would consider 'perfect'. With a few tweaks of course! For the ganache and cupcakes, I used a mix of milk and bittersweet chocolates and in the ganache, added heavy cream to it instead of conf sugar.



I had to decorate them the way Dorie did, simple and fun. Don't forget to check out the other TWD chocolate cupcakes to get your sweet tooth fix for Tuesday...yum!

27 comments:

Snooky doodle said...

these look so chocolatey :-) yummmy. I really like the cupcake swirl i don t know how to do it like that.

Shelby said...

they look awesome! i would love to sink my teeth into one! :)

Sihan said...

Those look awesome. i got lazy and spread mine instead. Great job u've done with yours!

LyB said...

They look perfect! I love the idea of the whipped ganache, it looks delicious. :)

CB said...

Amen sister. I am definitely a piper. Not the musical kind. The frosting in the piping bag with my fabulous 1M tip kind. HAHA. Great idea about whipping the ganache! Love the white nonpareils and silver dragees. Tres chic. Thanks for baking with me this week!
Clara @ iheartfood4thought

chocolatechic said...

I love the look of your frosting, along with your dregees.

Kimberly Johnson said...

Your piped frosting looks perfect! I prefer a thicker piled high frosting over the ganache but I didn't think about whipping it.

Flourchild said...

Very nice looking cupcakes! I love the sprinkles on top. Im glad you enjoyed them.

The Food Librarian said...

So beautiful and what a twist on the plain ganache. These are wonderful! Did you sneak those silver balls in across the border!? (I don't understand why they can't be sold here...I'm not going to eat a whole bag...)

Jamie said...

Those look yummy! I love the silver dragees!

marae said...

Thanks ladies...I love piping over spatula'ing...but sometimes the spatula is the fastest way to get cupcake in the mouth, pronto!!!

The silver dragees were a gift from a lovely pal... I hardly ever use them so this was the perfect opportunity!

kimberly salem said...

great idea to use whipped ganache, the piping looks lovely! the dragees are really pretty too :)

Engineer Baker said...

Love the dragees, and I'm a sucker for that nicely swirled frosting on top. It's just so pretty.

betty geek said...

Your is definitely fancier than mine! Booooo! See you in Cocoa tonight. xoxo!

Marthe said...

Your cupcakes look amazing: so professional!! I wish I could do that!

Bungalow Barbara said...

Yours are so beautiful!

I would love to learn how to pipe swirls like that. Do you have any suggestions for books, web site, videos that would help? And, what sort of tip would I need?

Prudy said...

They're so pretty! I think they look better here than in the book. I honestly feel like making another batch.

Mary Ann said...

They turned out beautifully! I love your decorating!

Unknown said...

Your cupcakes look gorgeous and delicious! Nice job decorating!

Anonymous said...

Your frosting looks beautiful!

Meghan said...

Ohhh my my my --- I'm a chocoholic and these sure look delectable !! :D

Shari said...

I love how you decorated them!

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous cupcakes. I am with you, I think the culprit of dryness is overbaking. Yours look wonderful and very elegant.

AmyRuth said...

Your photos are amazing and I prefer a piped application rather than dipped as well. Very pretty
AmyRuth

Anonymous said...

Those are decorated beautifully! They should be in the book!

Nancy/n.o.e said...

I loved the flavor of the ganache, and it sounds like it would be fabulous whipped. It sure looks beautiful, especially with the Dorie decorations!
Nancy

Faery said...

Wonderful cupcakes they look so delicious that I want to eat them all
Mara I have a surprise for you in my blog please come see