Two Awesome Cupcakes

Some classmates came over the other night to watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (which I have seen a thousand times and still cry over, like, throughout the whole movie) and Gabe promised them cupcakes, so cupcakes we made. They both turned out super awesome. The chocolate ones were like perfect, store-bought cupcake consistency, with a nice tang from the sour cream. I accidentally put almond extract in the frosting for them instead of vanilla, and it turned out great - it's amazing how almond flavor can make anything taste light and airy even when it has approximately 1,000 calories per three-bite serving. The coconut-expresso ones were pretty much the best flavor combination ever (spurring a fit of joyous latte making), but I messed up the texture by trying to make the batter in the food processor with the metal blade (foolish! I have already ruined mashed potatoes once this way, I should have learned my lesson!). Somehow this made them dense and eggy, sort of like a madeline, instead of cakey and fluffy. They also all had weird hollow dents in the bottom? Anyway they still tasted awesome and I finally learned how to make what the recipe calls "swiss meringue buttercream," i.e. the smooth, buttery, fancy icing you see on professional cakes that gets firm when it's cooled so you can decorate all pretty.

The Best Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Almond-Chocolate Buttercream
From cakeonthebrain.blogspot.com; Makes 12

8 tbs unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 c good-quality cocoa
3/4 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c sour cream

Preheat to 350. Line your muffin pan. Melt together the butter, cocoa, and chocolate on a double boiler (a bowl placed over a pot of simmering water, not touching the water). When fully mixed, place the bowl in the fridge to cool it a few minutes.

Whisk together the dry ingredients.

Beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Whisk in the chocolate mixture. Alternately add the dry ingredients and the sour cream, starting and ending with dry.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin tins. Bake about 20 minutes, until a fork comes out clean.

Coconut-Coffee Cupcakes with Peanutbutter Buttercream
Makes 12

3/4 c sugar
6 tbs unsalted butter, room temperature
1 egg + 1 yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 c flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 c coconut milk
1/4 c milk
4 tsp instant coffee or expresso powder

Preheat to 350 and line your muffin pan. Heat up the milks together and stir in the coffee powder, then set aside to cool.

Sift together the dry ingredients.

Cream the butter and sugar, then beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla. Alternately beat in the dry ingredients and the milk, starting and ending with the dry. Divide the batter evenly between your 12 tins and bake for about 20 minutes, until a fork comes out clean. Top with peanutbutter buttercream (recipe below).



Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
Makes enough for 12 cupcakes

2 egg whites
6 tbs sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
10 tbs unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla

A tip: We tried to make this by hand with a whisk because we have no egg beater. This was very stupid. We got stiff peaks after 20 minutes of beating with very sore arms, but then when we added the butter it totally separated and was gross and curdled-looking. three pulses in the food processor and it was perfectly smooth. So: an egg beater is probably best, but you could probably do the whole recipe in a food processor with a beating attachment (NOT metal blade).

Combine the sugar, egg whites, molasses, and cream of tartar in a big mixing bowl. Bring a pot of water to simmer and place your mixing bowl over it - the bottom should not touch the water. Beat the mixture until it's frothy and very warm to the touch, but not so much that the egg starts to cook. Remove from the heat and beat for a very long time, until the mixture holds stiff marshmallow-y peeks.

Beat together half of the butter and 1/3 of the meringue mixture. Add in the rest of the meringue a dollop at a time, beating after each addition. Then start beating the rest of the butter in a tablespoon at a time. Add the vanilla and beat until smooth.

For peanutbutter frosting: Beat in 4 tbs of peanutbutter.

For chocolate-almond frosting: Beat in 2 tbs cocoa powder and 1 tsp almond extract. For extra chocolatelyness, make a little bit of ganache by heating up a very small amount of cream, pouring it over a few oz of chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth, and refrigerating until it heats up. beat this into the meringue.