Chocolate Cupcakes: Coffee Kahlua Mousse filled, Choc Ganache frosted

I've been testing chocolate cupcake recipes for months now and found on Stef's Cupcake Project site what I might just call the Ultimate Chocolate Cupcake.

It has everything I desire in a cupcake, and more:

• A light, fluffy yet moist and extremely rich chocolatey cupcake
• A luscious, silken chocolate ganache icing on top
• And a surprise - a creamy chocolate mousse center that gives your tastebuds a huge coffee and Kahlua hit as you bite unsuspectingly into it.

Note: Chilling the cupcakes lets the mousse firm up to the proper consistency, but I couldn't wait!

Each of the three batches I've made have turned out consistently amazing and have drawn rave reviews from my panel of testers. :)

The recipe for the chocolate cupcake and chocolate ganache is adapted from Stef's 'Better than Sex Cupcakes: Chocolate Times Five'. The mousse recipe is my own.

Important

• All ingredients at room temperature
• Use a very light hand when mixing the cupcake batter. 
• Do NOT overmix

Chocolate Cupcakes 
(makes 16 regular cupcakes)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat butter with sugar till light and fluffy, and a pale yellow color (3 minutes).
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well combined. Beat in the vanilla essence. (1 minute)
4. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder in a small bowl. Then sieve the dry ingredients into another bowl to help aerate it.
5. Add three heaping tablespoons of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, sprinkling it evenly over the top of the butter mixture. Use a spatula to gently fold the flour into the butter. Mix until just combined.
6. Add about four tablespoons of milk to the batter mix. Use a spatula to gently fold the milk into the batter. Mix until just combined. 
7. Alternate between dry and wet ingredients, making sure to finish with the dry ingredients.
8. Scoop batter into cupcake liners about 1/2 full (don't overfill).
9. Bake for 22 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
10. Leave to cool while making the mousse. 

Moist and airy - a fine crumb despite using organic all-purpose flour

Chocolate Coffee Kahlua Mousse
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons instant coffee
1/2 teaspoon gelatin
2 tablespoons warm water
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons Kahlua

1. Place the 2 tablespoons of whipping cream, chocolate chips and coffee in a small bowl held over heated water in a pot. Stir until the chocolate chips have just melted, then remove from heat.
2. In a small cup, dissolve the gelatin in the water and set aside.
3. Whip the 1/2 cup of whipping cream until firm peaks form. 
4. Using a whisk, incorporate the (still liquid-y) gelatin mixture into the melted chocolate. Whisk well.
5. Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream. 
6. Chill in fridge while making the ganache.

Chocolate Ganache
3 oz bittersweet chocolate pieces
1/3 cup heavy cream

1. Melt chocolate in a small bowl held over heated water in a pot. 
2. When chocolate is melted, add cream and stir until combined and smooth.
3. Cool slightly till slightly thicker in consistency before use.

Assembling the Cupcakes

1. Using a cupcake corer ($5 on Amazon), extract the center of the cupcake. You can also use a knife but this will be more time-consuming. 
2. Spoon the mousse into the cored cupcakes, filling all the way to the top. I like to pipe the mousse filling instead. 
3. Pour the ganache over the cupcake, coating the top evenly.
4. Serve chilled or at room temperature. 

I would love to know if your cuppies turned out or if you have a favorite chocolate cupcake recipe to share. Please do leave a comment!

The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake Bar None

My quest for the best ever vanilla cupcake began two months before Kimby's bridal shower. I decided to add fondant decorated cupcakes to the dessert list, which included my signature fruit-filled sponge cake. My inspiration was Cousin Yoonie's exquisite fondant decorated cupcakes, which are *almost* too beautiful to eat (see one lovely creation HERE). Thanks for all your help and advice Yoon, this blog post is dedicated to you.

Recipe Testing
I first tested three promising recipes and then chose the best - this was Stef's Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake. My cousin's kindly-provided recipe was incredibly buttery and flavorful, but denser than the Ultimate. Julie Hanson's Very Vanilla Cupcake was also dense and not as tasty. The Ultimate was very light and airy, less buttery (as it had half oil half butter). I believe the secret of it's lightness lies in the 'reverse creaming' method. My quest for the perfect vanilla cupcake ended with the Ultimate.

Very Important 

• The first time I made it, it had 'tunnels' going through the cupcake. This meant my gas oven got too hot, which it tends to do if I let it go for too long. For the next three batches, I was careful to keep temperature at 350 degrees F and each batch was good.
• All the ingredients MUST be at room temperature for this to work.
• Use a good quality vanilla bean, and pure vanilla extract. This is a vanilla cupcake after all. :) I love the premium bourbon-Madagascar vanilla bean by J.R. Mushroom & Specialities. At less than $1 per bean, these are value for money.

Ingredients
(makes 16 cupcakes)
1 cup sugar (225 g)
1 vanilla bean
1 3/4 cups flour (175 g)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter (57 g)
2 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream (75 g)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (60 ml)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup whole milk (160 ml)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
2. In a small bowl, combine sugar and vanilla bean seeds.
3. In the stand mixer bowl with paddle beater attached, put flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Mix on speed 2 for 3 minutes.
4. Add butter. Mix for another 3 minutes.
5. In a small bowl, whisk eggs, cream, oil and vanilla till combined.
6. Add the egg mixture all in one go to the flour mix. Mix till well combined (1 minute). Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through.
7. Add milk to the batter and mix till very smooth (3 minutes). No lumps! Batter will be thin-ish.
8. Transfer batter to jug for easy pouring into cupcake liners. 
9. Fill liners half full and no more. 
10. Bake 14 minutes or until test skewer comes out clean. Test every minute after minute 14 until skewer comes out clean. 

Frosting 
I love these with swiss meringue buttercream (SMB), which are not as sweet and which contain protein from the egg whites. SMB is also addictive and you could be sucking silky luscious spoonfuls down before you even realise it!

Vanilla cupcakes with swiss meringue buttercream piped roses and topped with fondant butterflies

Making Ahead
The cupcakes can be made up to 3 days ahead, and kept in an airtight container so they don't dry out. They can also apparently be frozen for up to a month, but I haven't tried that.

Have you a favorite cupcake recipe to share? I am always on the lookout for favorite / family recipes and would love love love to try yours out. Please do leave a comment!

xo Gracie

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