Saturday, July 7, 2012

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

What better way to round up a Mexican Fiesta than with a "spicy" chocolate cupcake?

I found the original recipe here.
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
2 cups sifted cake flour (I substituted white rice flour to make it gluten free)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper flakes (add more if you like it spicier.  I omitted it all together)
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
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For the ganache:
6 ounces (170 g) good dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (146 g) Nutella
3 Tablspoons (43 g) unsalted butter
2/3 cup (158 ml) heavy cream
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
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For the frosting:
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups confectioners’ sugar (original recipe calls for 4 cups)
1 package, 8 ounces (228 g) cream cheese, at room temp.
8 Tablespoons (114 g) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) vanilla extract, clear
cinnamon sticks for decoration (optional)

Directions:
For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease and flour 24 muffin cups, or use paper baking cups.
Mix and sift flour, cocoa, sugar, pepper and baking powder together into a bowl. Add oil, vanilla, eggs, and milk; beat for 30 seconds with a mixer at low speed, scraping the bowl frequently. Beat for 7 1/2 minutes more with a stand mixer at medium speed or 6 minutes with a hand mixer at high speed, scraping the bowl 4 – 5 times.
Pour batter into pans. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove muffins from oven and cool in pans for about 12 minutes. Remove muffins from pans and finish cooling on a wire rack.  Then, I used the tip of a teaspon to cut out the middles of the cupcakes for a place to fill in the ganache.

For the Ganache:
Take all ingredients and melt them in the microwave (about 45 seconds), stirring at least once.
Fill the cupcake using a small spoon with ganache until the ganache reaches the rims of the top of the cupcake.
The cupcakes are now ready to be frosted.
For the frosting:
In a bowl sift together the chili powder, cayenne pepper, cinnamon and confectioners’ sugar. Set aside.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed for about 4 minutes.
Mix in the vanilla extract.
Add the sugar mixture to the cream cheese mixture and mix together.
The frosting is now ready to be piped onto the cupcakes. Use a bigger tip for bigger swirls. Decorate with a cinnamon stick .

Thanks to my MIL for modeling her cupcake!

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