10/28/08

TWD: Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes


This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was selected by Clara of I Heart Food 4 Thought. With the huge cupcake craze that seems to be permeating every bakery, blog, and bistro (ok not bistros so much but I'm a sucker for alliteration) it's amazing that I haven't baked any up on my own lately.


Alas, those cute little cakes are often less successful for me than regular sized cakes- they end up dry from their small size or oily from the oil that was intended to keep them moist. Many TWD bakers felt that these cupcakes turned out dry and many had to reduce the baking time. Luckily for me, I was not one of those bakers.

My cupcakes went the full baking time and turned out nice and moist. I attribute my success to the thorough mixing instructions that Dorie provides- when she says to beat the sugar and butter for 2 minutes, I set a timer and do it exactly that way. Who knows if this really made a difference- but I always appreciate her detailed instructions and I figure there must be some reason she includes said details.


Like Dorie explains in her description of the recipe, the subtle sweetness of the cupcake and the richness of the chocolate makes these a more grown-up tasting treat. I also had a lot of success with the ganache- just don't expect a sugary, fluffy cloud of frosting- it is a simple and deeply chocolaty ganache.


While I had a little too much fun staging and photographing my cupcakes, Helen Mae ate some little pumpkins and gourds. She can't eat chocolate until she's one year old so I figured that it was a fair trade-off.



Stay tuned for more candy corn fun later this week!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very cute cupcakes, I like how you arranged the candy corns in the shape of a flower :).

Cristine said...

Cute cupcakes and cute kiddo!

chocolatechic said...

I love how you made the candy corn look like flowers

Jamie said...

Those look delicious! I love the candy corn!

Marjie said...

The cupcakes are cute, but I really want to give that baby a big hug! I always made mine plain cupcakes, so they could play in them without too much mess. But she does look happy with her little gourds - they're more colorful, anyway!

Helene said...

I don't know which wins the medal for adorable, your cupcakes or your daughter!! Oh...your daughter...hands down!

Kimberly Johnson said...

Love the candy corn flowers on the cupcakes!

Prudy said...

I love your cupcakes and I love your pictures of the cupcakes, and don't even get me started on Helen Mae. I'm so so smitten with that baby! She is just the cutest!

Bridget said...

The candy corn on top is so pretty...what a great idea!

Rosie said...

What cute cupcakes - just adore them!

Rosie x

MacDuff said...

Your cupcakes are just too cute! Makes me crave candy corn!

Wandering Coyote said...

Excellent job, and fabulous photos! You know, I've never even tried candy corn before...

Anonymous said...

I think beating it for the correct amount of time must make the difference! I'm going to try to set a counter next time! Thanks! Those look great!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

These are irrisistible. Looks lovely.