Friday, March 15, 2013

Deep Dark Chocolate Cupcakes {Rebake} w/Whipped Mascarpone Frosting (★ ★ ★ ★ ☆)

Some things are just not meant to be brought back.

Like...
Dinner, Circa 1950.

Sure, it was the golden age of domesticity, but what the heck were those housewives making?!

Vegetable and meat jello?

I'll be taking a rain check, thank you.
Stick me in a cryogenic freezer and ship me back to the land of deep fried oreos!

Or...
Village People's Y.M.C.A.

I know it's your wedding, but please, let's keep this macho-cheeseball of a song where it belongs. 
In 1978.
And...
Overalls!

Guys, overalls are coming back!  They're coming back???????!

This. is. a. travesty.

Of course, I'm guilty of wearing a pair or two everyday in the 90's.

But I was a kid!
I didn't know any better.

What I thought was the perfect solution to hiding my awkward teenage body was actually a fashion conspiracy to keep me looking like a large, lumpy sack of denim.

Why?
Because Junior High is about pain, people.

The truth of the matter is:
Everything comes around.

Everything.

Whether it looks exactly like it did before, is not the question.
The fact is...it's back.

Thankfully, for every terrible idea there is an equally wonderful one begging to be rediscovered.

Like jean jackets,

All forms of hair braids,

even "Sexy."


Oh, and these cupcakes.

I made these way back in the dark ages of this blog when I had no idea what I was doing.

I still don't really know what I'm doing, but at least now I'm organized about it.
Progress, people!

But even then, when everything was a complete mess, I still stumbled upon an amazing chocolate cake recipe.

We're talking I'm lookin' no further.  I'm plantin' my roots.  And unless someone asks me to try out their recipe because they guarantee that it is better, this is the chocolate cake I will be serving from here to kingdom come.


It's my chocolate cake "go-to."


The only problem was I hadn't made it since then.

That's the food blogger dilemma.  You find something amazing, but you can't ever make it again because you are supposed to be making "new" recipes, trying "new" things.

Well, you know what?

I'm breaking the rules.

Because this cake is too good to be forgotten.
...and mascarpone cheese is so absolutely divine, I needed it again too.

But in true blogger fashion, I've tweaked it.  (Don't shut me down, Google!)
Today, it's whipped!

See?  I'm still fit to be in the kitchen.
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I can't really explain this cake to you, other than it has the perfect balance of moist and denseness.
It's not too heavy, not too dry.  It's amazing.

Also, this frosting is very "whipped creamy."  Light and fluffy.  If you want something more solid, cut the cream in half.  Next time, I am going to do this.
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Deep Dark Chocolate Cake
copied from A Bloggable Life
  • 2 Cups of Sugar
  • 1 3/4 Cups of Flour
  • 3/4 Cup of Cocoa (Hershey's Special Dark, if you want this coloring)
  • 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1 Cup Milk
  • 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
  • 2 tsp Vanilla
  • 1 Cup Boiling Water

Whipped Vanilla Mascarpone Frosting
adapted from Martha Stewart
  • 8oz Mascarpone Cheese, Room Temperature
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Paste (or Extract)
  • 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar (more or less to taste)
  • 2 Cups of Heavy Cream
  • Stabilizer: Unflavored Gelatin/Cornstarch (I did not do this and my frosting did not hold for longer than 30 minutes)

Makes 24 Frosted Cupcakes
Preheat Oven to 375F Degrees then lower to 350F Degrees
Bake for 15-20 minutes
Needed Muffin Tin & Cupcake Liners

Cupcakes:
1) In a large bowl, add sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Stir until combined.
2) Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla.  Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. 
3) Mix in boiling water until combined.  Batter will be very thin and runny.  (See bottom righthand
    picture.  The batter doesn't even stick to the beaters).
4) Line muffin tin with cupcake liners.
5) Carefully pour batter into cups about 3/4 full.  I used a measuring cup to do this since the batter
    was so runny and I still managed to make a mess. 
6) Place pan into 375F Degree oven.  After 7 minutes lower oven temperature to 350F for the
    remaining 8-13 minutes.  Cupcakes are done when toothpick inserted into the center comes out
    clean.
7) Allow cupcakes to cool completely in the muffin tin before removing.

Frosting:
1) Place a medium sized bowl in the freezer to chill.
2) In another bowl, mix mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla until well combined.
3) Take bowl out of the freezer and beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form. This will take a few
    minutes so be patient (make sure you start with clean beaters for this!) {Here is where you would
    add your stabilizer...otherwise use immediately}
4) Fold cheese mixture into whipped cream.  I found this very difficult and ended up mixing with the
    beater very carefully and quickly.  Keep chilled.
5) Frost cupcakes and enjoy!

Blog police, you'll never get my pearls!








26 comments:

  1. I had zero idea what you were talking about at the beginning of the post... but nonetheless it was amusing.

    Love the step by step pictures. That really helps someone like me how really needs to see it to understand it.

    Do you use the same brand of Mascarpone everytime?

    -Jimmy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do, only because Trader Joe's is the only place I've ever found it besides like Whole Foods or something. It's $2.99 for 8oz. Not sure how much it costs elsewhere.

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    2. I get them all over the place.. safeway, savemart, Trader Joe's.. I'm trying to figure out who's is the best for my tiramisu :)

      -Jimmy

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  2. Just drooling over this!!! Seriously I am!!! Just dropping in from Lets Get Social Sunday to meet you and follow (via GFC) and I found these Chocolate Cupcakes!!! OH Goodness!!!

    Have a great evening!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ya, these were pretty good. :) Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. I am so in the mood for something sweet and all we have in the house is a Hershey's bar, which is not what I want... I want cake! Chocolate cake. And this post has everything to do with that, lol

    I'm visiting today from Let's Get Social Sunday. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, hope you got your chocolate fix sometime today! Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  4. I seriously want to leave work and go home and bake these and then eat the entire pan. That probably wouldn't be very smart on any level would it. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You should do it! Not the leaving work part, but the baking these today part. Although, you might be tempted to eat the whole lot...make sure you have some place or some one you can pawn the rest off to. Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  5. Mmmm your cakes sound so good! I can't believe I've never had mascarpone frosting before, but I feel like I need to have it now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mascarpone frosting is amazing! I had to literally stop myself from devouring just the cheese with sugar and vanilla before I had added the whipped cream. It's that good. Thanks for coming to see me!

      Delete
    2. Could you describe the flavor a bit to me?
      Does it taste like cream cheese, or does the finished frosting taste more like the tiramisu?

      Delete
    3. So, this recipe is a lot more "whipped creamy." It still has the flavor of the cheese, but the texture is light and fluffy. If you want the frosting to be more firm cut the heavy cream in half (use just 1 cup). As for the flavor of mascarpone, it resembles cream cheese, but has a much smoother texture and a more delicate flavor. Think of the difference between Hershey's and Godiva. Similar, but not the same class. It is the cheese traditionally used for Tiramisu.

      Delete
  6. Thanks for stopping by! And for the invite. I'll pop on over. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Double-dipping = Awful.
    Double-blogging = Genius.
    Having "Sexyback" stuck in my head for half the morning = maddening.

    The cupcakes look amazing. And how cute is it that your dessert has its own chair?? Love it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, I wish I could send you a cupcake just for reading the whole post.

      And I got that chair at a thrift store. It's amazing the crazy/random/awesome things people buy then throw out. Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  8. Great narrative... I love how deep and dark these cupcakes are... they are now embedded in my psyche. Thanks for sharing them with us on foodie friday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa gives it that "black" color.

      Delete
  9. How much cornstarch is needed for stabilizing it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've only used unflavored gelatin, and I just eyeballed it. It seemed to work fine and I probably used about 1 tsp for 2 cups of heavy cream (pre-whipping). However, this recipe by Baked Bree calls for 1 tsp per 1 cup of cream.

      Whipped Cream
      http://bakedbree.com/whipped-cream
      1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
      1 Tablespoon cold water
      1 cup cold heavy or whipping cream
      3 Tablespoons sugar
      1 teaspoon vanilla

      Hope that helps!

      Delete
  10. Mmmmmm! Love the whipped mascarpone. I have a similar recipe I use to fill my tiramisu macarons on www.themightymacaron.com :) And I love that that cupcake is sitting in a chair! Thank you so much for linking up with me this week at Tasty Tuesdays! I’ve pinned this & shared it with my followers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :) Thanks! I'll admit, that chair is a little over the top - but mascarpone makes the best frosting!!

      What?! Tiramisu Macarons? That sounds incredible!

      Delete
  11. I'm trying to LOSE weight here...how is that ever going to happen with bloggers like you around?!? This looks so freaking delicious! If I wasn't baking-challenged I'd whip some up for this weekend. (I might eat all the batter before it made it to the oven though...oops!)

    Kylie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I offer you my deepest condolences, Kylie! But I appreciate the sincere compliment. Because essentially weight gain is the sincerest form a dessert/food blogger can ever ask for! In all honesty, everything I bake ends up on the blog. I'm not secretly baking more behind the scenes. Which means I bake 2-4 times a month. So it really isn't that much when you consider my family helps me devour these treats in a heartbeat. Moderation my dear...because a life without cake is no life at all. :)

      Delete
  12. I’ve made this cake using the recipe from Cuisine at Home. It is amazing! The frosting recipe that was included is also very good. It’s really shiny and dark with deep chocolate flavor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It IS amazing, isn't it?! I think it's my favorite chocolate cake recipe. Period. Your comment makes me want to make some today! Thanks for stopping by!

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