Monday, June 7, 2010

Chocolate Butter Cupcakes

Rose's Heavenly Cakes, Page 296: Chocolate Butter Cupcakes

When i first looked at the recipe i was skeptical that it would be chocolaty as Rose claimed in her book since it didn't required any melted chocolate and only 42g of cocoa powder.  I was wondering to myself if the chocolaty was up to my standard (I'm a chocoholic..and i admit that i'm also a chocolate snob..no lousy chocolate for me).  I was disappointed before.  I once tried Flo Braker's devil food's cake recipe in one of her older books which also called for only cocoa powder and was deeply disappointed because i was expecting this rich moist chocolate cake but in the end it turned out ok but not that deep rich chocolate taste that i was looking for.  I guess the disappointment was largely due to the fact that i ordered her out of print book from Amazon just for the recipe to the cake on book cover cos it looked really good..and it didn't turn out really that good imo.  

So I gathered & weighed all my ingredients.  Followed instructions which are pretty short, simple and sweet.  


Placed ingredients in my kitchenaid mixer...  Weather's so hot....and next to the mixer, i had the slow cooker with my herbal ginseng chicken soup in it was emitting heat too.. (that's about my work space..next to my kitchen aid is a bit of space and the sink..)..hence i just used butter right from the fridge..no need to wait till room temp.  

After mixing, I used the standard size ice-cream scoop to place it right into the cupcake cups.  Not sure what size is my ice-cream scoop..cos i don't see any numbers on it.   Baked for 15-17 mins..it was pretty quick.   :)

I wanted to make Rose's fave chocolate-egg white buttercream but didn't in the end cos i found left-overs of my dreamy white chocolate frosting i did last week and some ganache too in my fridge. :D  Gotta clear them first...no good to waste food..lol! 



Ok, I confess, this is about all that i frosted..hahaha..i only frosted 5 cupcakes just to take photos for this blog post.  And i tied ribbon around the cupcakes because the paper cases were peeling off on its own away from the cake.  

VERDICT:  When i took a bite, i was surprised!  It certainly was all that Rose had claimed - "velvety, moist and deeply chocolaty".  Exactly what i was looking for!  Yummy! Surprised because the batter didn't taste very chocolatey but after the cupcakes were baked, they tasted different - very chocolaty!  So...my lesson learnt here - Never doubt the guru in cake making!   My daughter said they were delish and ate 2 in one go!  My husband ate the ones without frosting and he too said they are very good (my husband doesn't like any frosting if he can help it).   The cupcakes tasted good on their own without any frosting imo.

My son, the picky one needed much coaxing before he wanted to try!  He doesn't like cupcakes just because they have paper around - I guess he thinks it is different.  So I 'tricked' him - removed the paper and placed the cake on his plate. At first he said "NO" and i had to tell him: "Look, it's chocolate cake, smell it!"  He took a sniff, tried a spoonful, liked it very much, ate it all up and wanted another one.  After he ate his first cupcake, i showed him the others with the paper cases attached so that he can link them together, ie cupcakes = cake.  Introducing him new food is not impossible but almost impossible...i should know..i have been trying for 17+ years already..

With my son liking this cake, definitely be in always bake list.  :D  I think i'll teach him how to make them..but i have to first convert the recipe into PECS symbols so he can read & understand.


29 comments:

Mendy on June 7, 2010 at 11:04 AM said...

ב''ה

You are a master baker! :)

I wish I knew why mine did not come out so nicely.

Vicki on June 7, 2010 at 11:07 AM said...

They look so cute with ribbons! I was just having a look through to see which frosting sounded good and I decided on the Dreamy Creamy but I don't have any leftover in the freezer. I think I turned it into truffles or something. I loved that frosting. Glad your son liked them. Always makes a mom feel good.

evil cake lady on June 7, 2010 at 11:16 AM said...

your cupcake liners are so pretty and i love the ribbon! thanks for frosting a few just for us ;)

i also used stashed frosting! cupcakes are a great excuse to use up the frozen buttercreams, in my opinion.

Lois B on June 7, 2010 at 12:08 PM said...

Glad to hear these were a hit at your house. The ribbons are a beautiful touch.

I have no frosting in the freezer (for once), so I'm making Magnolia's creamy white frosting and throwing in some strawberries.

Alpha Baker Joan on June 7, 2010 at 2:12 PM said...

Your cupcakes look delicious - moist and chocolatey...Mine are frozen to be frosted on Tuesday. Hope they will look as cute as yours. joan

Nicola on June 7, 2010 at 2:42 PM said...

Love the ribbon on your cupcakes. So precious.

I love that you tricked your son into eating these. Sometimes Mum's have to be a bit devious!

I used the dreamy creamy white chocolate as well... on those that made it to the icing stage. My husband took a liking to them and ate about four pre icing. See, I am not devious enough!

maameemoomoo on June 7, 2010 at 3:36 PM said...

Your love pays off, faithy.. :)

ps : Sexy KA u've got there!

gartblue on June 7, 2010 at 4:43 PM said...

faithy, gorgoues presentation.

love the liners, love the ribbons, lover the cuppies and sure love the frosting.

btw, we have the exact same KA .. *happy*

and stashed frosting I have plenty, in small containers, maybe just enough for 5 cuppies. I haven't made mine yet since I'm still thinking about the frosting to use.

Y on June 7, 2010 at 6:32 PM said...

Beautiful cupcakes! Let me tell you, it would certainly take me less than 17 years to clue in to the fact that cupcake absolutely equals cake, especially if you're the magical baker behind it all! :)

FOODESSA on June 7, 2010 at 6:51 PM said...

You certainly know how to get a sweet tooth's attention. Yes, I do beleive that Rose is somewhat a guru. I have not tried this particular recipe...so thanks for trying it for us all. It looks like I'd have at least two ;o)
Flavourful wishes, Claudia

Pei-Lin on June 7, 2010 at 7:37 PM said...

Faithy, the cupcakes look very dark, which means they're indeed deadly chocolatey! Gotta agree though, sometimes, I purposely dress up part of my bakes just for photography purpose! Haha!

Hey, seems like Beranbaum's cake book is everywhere in the food blogosphere! Is it really that good? I'm tempted to get one copy of it ... How much did you buy yours for? Need your advice ... Thanks, buddy!

Whimsy Cookie Co. on June 7, 2010 at 8:25 PM said...

These look great Faithy!! Love the liners with the ribbon..too cute!! I really haven't had a lot of time to make cupcakes..just cookies ALL the time..but I am so inspired to make them..but my hips would hate me for it!! Thanks for sharing!!

ann low on June 7, 2010 at 9:51 PM said...

Looks so pretty and yummy!

Unknown on June 7, 2010 at 10:16 PM said...

I had to laugh when I read you only frosted the ones you photographed. been there, done that! Now I don't feel guilty about only making enough to get photos of my recipes. Pretty pictures of the dishes for the blog, not so pretty dishes for the family.

Unknown on June 8, 2010 at 7:39 AM said...

wow these look so amazing!
do you happen to have the full recipe? I want to try it since my best friend's birthday's coming up :)
thanks!
page

Unknown on June 8, 2010 at 8:33 AM said...

Mmmmmmmm these look like they taste really good and I like the little ribbon you tied around the cupcakes it adds a nice little decorative touch to them!!

faithy on June 8, 2010 at 12:40 PM said...

Aww..Mendy, you are too sweet!

Thanks Vicki..i too glad my son loves them!

Thanks Jennifer! I'm still thinking if your frosting is stashed from 2008! LOL!

Thanks Lois! i love how you frosted your cupcakes and your strawberry frosting looked yummy!

Thanks Joan! I'm still waiting for your post! :)

Thanks Nicola! LOL! Where's your post..i'm still waiting.. ya..i have to trick my son often! If the packing of the snacks he has is slightly different he will refuse to eat it! I had problems with one of the cookies i bought while we were in Australia..cos it's different packaging even though the cookies tasted the same!?

Thanks Cherie! Red mixer matches my kitchen cabinets!

Thanks Gartblue! Ya..i think a few of us has the same KA mixer in red. Raymond has the same colored one too, i think..lol! You too, where's your post?

Thanks Y! You're so sweet..your comments made my day esp. coming from a pastry chef! :D

Thanks Claudia!

Thanks Pei Li! I've already twittered you the answers to your questions! :)

Thanks Laurie!! I LOVE your cookies! I wish i have that patient and also the skills to make decorated sugar cookies like you do! It's not easy..so much work but you made it look so easy!

Thanks Anncoo!

LOL! Thanks Linda for telling me that i'm not the only one who 'dress' up the cakes before photographing them. Too lazy to frost them all..lol!

Thanks Page! Unfortunately, as part of Rose's HCB, we are not allowed to post up recipes from her book.

Thank you SweetTooth! :D

Saira on June 8, 2010 at 7:24 PM said...

gorgeous gorgeous cupcakes! I'm gonna borrow your tying the ribbon around the cupcakes idea soon;)

Monica on June 8, 2010 at 11:35 PM said...

I love the trick you do to get the butter softened! We do what we must do right? I have to agree, the batter did not have a strong chocolate taste but once baked oh boy!

And I'm loving your wrappers, but then I'm a HUGE fan of anything that has a geometric shape and if they are circles even better!

Juliana on June 9, 2010 at 3:50 AM said...

The cupcakes are so cute and sure they look moist...yummie!

Jenn on June 9, 2010 at 10:09 PM said...

Such a pretty cupcake. I love the wrapper, and the little bow is so cute!

All of my cupcakes pull away from the wrapper after a few hours. I think it's one of the problem with foil cupcakes.

Jo on June 9, 2010 at 10:53 PM said...

These cupcakes look really good and I love moist, chocolatey ones too!

LaChelle @ SugarDuchess on June 11, 2010 at 12:38 AM said...

You have such gorgeous treats! I love your attention to detail. I'm now officially hooked on this blog :)

zerin on June 12, 2010 at 3:15 AM said...

loved the way you have those tiny ribbons around the cupcake.

Sarah, Maison Cupcake on June 13, 2010 at 5:43 AM said...

These look so sweet with the gold cord tied round them. I love those strawberry decorations too, did you make those or buy them like that?

faithy on June 14, 2010 at 11:02 AM said...

Thank you all!

@Sarah, that strawberry is a gummy candy.

Elaine on June 14, 2010 at 1:17 PM said...

wow, you're an amazing artist Faithy!

Jamie on June 17, 2010 at 4:51 PM said...

Oh the cookies are fabulous! I love the crowns especially! You are so talented! What a special package she'll get at camp!

Jamie on June 17, 2010 at 4:52 PM said...

Oops! How did my cookie comment end up here? Sorry!

 

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