I admit this blog needs a little more lovin’… and while I have been baking boatloads of stuff almost every week, I haven’t really been posting much. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram or are a fan of my little Facebook page, your news feed might have been flooded (well, not so much really) with whatever that comes out of my tiny kitchen.
I have been on a search for the “best” chocolate frosting – something that involves little or no powdered sugar. I’ve tested a few recipes, but I still haven’t found “the one.” If you want to know what my “criteria” are… well, I really don’t know. My taste buds are looking for that familiar chocolate frosting I used to fancy when I was growing up. Hah. I found a close match, but I’m keeping my options open… (Uh, okay. This is beginning to sound so much like the search for the perfect job or partner! LOL).
While on Google last week, I chanced upon Tracey’s blog… I have bookmarked a few of her recipes in the past few months, but never had the chance to make any of them.
Last weekend was the best time to play around in the kitchen – the weather was cool due to an impending storm and I didn’t have anywhere to go.
First order of business was a small batch of Cinnamon Churro Cupcakes from Tracey.
These are cinnamon cupcakes filled with chocolate pudding and frosted with chocolate whipped cream. I skipped the chocolate pudding and used leftover chocolate frosting from an earlier experiment.
Cinnamon Churro Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Tracey's Culinary Adventures
(barely adapted from Love and Olive Oil)
** Halved the recipe to make 6 cupcakes.
Cinnamon Cupcakes
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1/2 tsp cider vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
3 1/2 tbsp canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp whole milk
1/2 tsp meringue powder
Pinch of cream of tartar
Pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup cold heavy cream (I used 1/2 cup single/all-purpose cream mixed with 2 tbsp melted butter)
For the chocolate pudding recipe, check out Tracey’s post here.
To make the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin pan with 5-6 paper liners.
Sift/dry whisk flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. In another bowl or a big measuring cup, mix together milk and vinegar. Add sugar, oil and vanilla, mix until incorporated. Pour wet ingredients over the flour mixture and whisk just until combined. Don't overmix.
Scoop batter into each muffin well and fill up to 2/3 full.
Bake cupcakes for 18-20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting:
In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients except heavy cream. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
When ready, gradually beat the heavy cream into the chocolate mixture until incorporated. Continue beating until fluffy and desired consistency is reached. Chill until ready to use. (I found the frosting a bit on the runny side - I decided to leave it in the fridge for over 6 hours and it piped beautifully.)
When frosting is ready, using an apple corer or the base of a large icing tip, poke a hole into the center of the cupcakes. Fill the hole with chocolate pudding (or in my case, chocolate frosting). Replace the top of the cakes and frost cupcakes.
* If you don't have leftover chocolate frosting, make the pudding first.
* You can also opt to make the frosting first and let it cool while baking the cupcakes.
Photo taken using Instagram. :)
These are best enjoyed with a mug of steaming tsokolate de tablea. Ooh la la. Perfect for rainy days like this!
