The other night I was laying around watching some old episodes of Master Chef, putting off getting dressed for a special dinner date with the husband, when all of a sudden -whaaattt– one of the challenges on Master Chef was to create an incredible, unique cupcake in 45 minutes!
Pfff, I thought…how are they supposed to bake, cool and decorate a cupcake in just 45 minutes?? I mean, whenever I bake, sure I always say, “ok, I’ll be done with this in one hour”, but then there’s facebook, the cat’s meowing, the phone rings, I get hungry etc. But then it got me thinking…could it be done? I looked at the clock…I had 1 hour to shower, get dressed and be out the door to meet the husband….I’d have to shower while the cakes were baking…but…it could be done!
Considering that I was seriously craving chocolate, I decided to make a Chocolate Bomba Cupcake.
Recipe follows:
Mocha cupcakes:
1/2 cup (50 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 cup (240 ml) hot strong-brewed coffee
1 1/3 cups (175 grams) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113 grams) butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 375F (190C)
Stir together cocoa powder and coffee until smooth. Let cool.
Whisk together dry ingredients.
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla.
Stir in flour mixture and then chocolate mixture.
Fill cupcake tin 2/3 full and bake 16-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean, but the cupcakes are still springy to the touch.
Cool completely before frosting them.
Amazing fudgy frosting:
4 ounces (120 grams) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup (150 grams) butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups (160 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Melt chocolate in a bain-marie, let cool (to speed this process I made an inverted bain-marie)
Cream butter until smooth and creamy, add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, add vanilla and finally add chocolate and beat until incoporated.
Decorate cupcakes with frosting, sprinkle on a handful of toasted coconut flakes if you like!
So, did I win the challenge? Not quite, but I did finish the cupcakes in less than an hour. How about you? What’s the fastest you can make a cupcake?
Talk about motivation! The cupcakes look scrumptious! I did make a Peanut Butter Pie the other day in 45 min.